Down to the Hour
by amikaze
Summary: This is a little 'Thank You' for my friend StupidRiddler for cheering me up when i was down in the dumps. Just some of her OC x Lu Xun fluff. Hope its good!


Hello, hello! Welcome to all! :D

This is a small little one-shot i did for one of my closest friends~!

This kinda branches off from a couple of her adorable one-shots, so by no means is this any of my original work! This features her 'Nameless' OC and Lu Xun, with a taaad bit of meddling with my OC as well.

**StupidRiddler** - This is a 'thank you' for your kind words when i was down, and to show my appreciation, here's a little ditty~ i hope you like it! :D I warn you beforehand that i am NOT a very good fluff writer like you are! kndknvdbgj I hope you like it, even if you like it a little bit! lol Thanks so much!

SO! without further ado, here's the story~! ;D

* * *

"So what of it? You keep beating around the bush."

"Just, I dunno, SAY IT."

"There isn't really anything to say…"

"Because you won't SAY. IT. There isn't anything to say if you don't do it!"

"You're being unreasonable."

"Hmph, yeah okay, whatever."

The sun's midday rays filtered through the room and accentuated the heckled young man's face. Every day he was subjected to this harassment, and sometimes, it just wasn't worth the fight. When he tried isolating himself for a while, it always found him. Avoiding it only made the situation worse since it seemed like the more he ignored it, the more intense and stronger it grew.

Troubled, sienna eyes averted a much darker pair of brown eyes as they settled onto some scrolls. He could feel them zapping him with expectancy. She wasn't going to leave without a definite answer this time.

"Okay, I'll tell her."

"When?"

"..Today."

"At one point today?"

"..Before the 24th hour."

"Ugh! Lu Xun! 'Keep it up and we'll find her right now! This is ridiculous!"

Ami chuffed as she removed the scrolls from Lu Xun's line of sight and practically dragged him out of the building. Despite the protest and resistance, Lu Xun gave way.

* * *

"For such a candid guy, you're kinda shy with the ladies." Ami stated as the two of them sauntered throughout town.

"Well, she's special…of course it's hard to talk to her." Simply admitting it to himself was enough to turn his face a tad bit magenta, but when someone started to coo and prattle over how cute it was to actually say it, his signature color of crimson red painted his cheeks like a young girl who couldn't apply make-up correctly.

Putting up a stoic front to prevent anymore babble, Lu Xun ignored his weird friend's rave and tuned her out. Even though he's been thinking about it all this time, what _was_ he going to tell her? Today was the day whether he liked it or not, and time is steadily ticking by.

He preferred watching her dance over the Qiaos. She stood out more than Shang Xiang. Her determination to do well and improve herself was very admirable and her drive to succeed was contagious. That's why he tried so hard to do well for himself as well; trying to keep up with her was a challenge and he liked that.

Or rather, he tried to do well for himself so he could be all he could be. For her.

"Luu Xuuuun. We've been walking for HOURS. You know where she hangs out at! Stop stalling and actually look for her!"

"Ami, only 45 minutes has passed.."

"Okay, but see! You're actually keeping track of time! You are NOT waiting until the 24th hour to confess your undying love to her!" Ami stated with her hands akimbo.

"Ha, much easier said than done." Lu Xun stopped walking as he clamped his hands behind his head. Even though he didn't exactly look it, he was stressed out. His unbraided hair became messy as his hands slowly proceeded to the top of his head and down again. He kept a good poker face, but his anxiety was a little palpable. "Look, we'll make a deal,"

Ami perked up a bit to the mere mention of being able to win at something. "Oooh, lay it on me! Whatever it is, I WILL win. And I WILL make you taste defeat." Her excitement caught the eye of passersby which resulted in weird stares for the both of them.

"Haha, okay. Good thing I won't lose; you're cooking isn't all that great so tasting ANYTHING would result in death, not defeat." Lu Xun joked as his easily excitable friend made a bigger spectacle of herself.

"LU XUN! That was so mean! Especially coming from you!" Ami huffed as she began to settle down. "What's your stupid deal so I can win and make you suffer already!"

"Aha, with all jokes aside, here's what I'll do: I'm going to find her and tell her how I feel _by myself-_"

"OH NO YOU WO-" Lu Xun politely halted his friend from saying anything further by covering her mouth with his hand. Sheesh, she always has to protest EVERYTHING!

"I will go by myself, and as proof, I'll bring a flower back. If I don't, then..you win and you'll have your sadistic victory." An uneasy look slowly presented its way on his face as he spoke the last part of sentence.

Ami looked at him with skepticism all over her face. All over. That face.

"Lu Xun, you can find a flower anywhere and say you talked to her. That was the most transparent plan you have ever thought of. Even I could see through it…Wha-! Hey!"

"Hahaha, I was not trying to call you stupid. I was being serious. But there's a catch." Lu Xun became a little tense as he spoke of the latter part of his plan.

"If she doesn't feel the same way, I'll come back empty handed. No flower, no..nothing."

Changing gears before the testy friend could question anything, Lu Xun began walking and started a new conversation. "Onward to the flower shop!"

* * *

"Ohh, that's what you had in mind! I was wondering how the hell that would work out." Ami stated as she watched Lu Xun browse the freshly cut lilies and daisies. He only paid attention to the flowers that had two buds and shared a stem. Many cute reasons for his decisions ran through her mind, but she kept them to herself. Simply getting him to confess was enough for him. In one day. Tomorrow was another thing altogether.

After much deliberation, Lu Xun finally picked out a two-headed lily and paid for it. It was a vibrant tiger lily with the most perfect of speckles and loveliest of scents. _It's almost as perfect as her. Almost._ When they were done marveling at beauty of the flower, the two Wu officers continued their walk down the street until they reached the town's limit.

"So. You better make good of that promise, got it?" Ami scolded as she playfully punched Lu Xun in the arm. He barely stopped her lighthearted assault as he was preoccupied with what was about to happen. Ami took the hint and turned around as she began to leave.

"She spends her time in the fields when she's by herself? She must always have something on her mind." Lu Xun's heart skipped a beat when he heard the next sentence. "Go to her Xun, I'm sure you'll get a flower back." She took a few more steps before she added, "OH! And if you don't get back before dinner, you'll have to guess who made the soup!: Me, Ning, or Ce! Hehehe!" And with that, she darted off to revel in the first part of her sadistic revenge. And his heart was back on rhythm. For now.

* * *

The stubborn blue that lingered in the sky was slowly being replaced with amber. Though the sun was still visible, it was getting a bit late. The evening birds were already singing for their mates and the crickets were joining in on the serenade. A slight breeze made the slightly tall grass sway.

Lu Xun was slowly closing in on her usual hangout spot, and with every step closer, the harder his heart began to beat. The latest conversation reverberated throughout his racing mind.

_"Love? As if."_

Lu Xun gripped the lily with a bit too tight and snapped the lower part of the stem. It wasn't a big deal since it was so close to the base. A simple twist and problem was solved.

_"I mean 'love'. It's not real. Nobody can love someone forever; they're eventually going to get bored of them, or just stop liking them."_

Not paying attention to his footing, Lu Xun stumbled on a small rock and stumbled onto the ground. His fall was cushioned by the ground, so instead of dirt, grass stained his pants and left a pretty good-sized smear on his knees. Fully engrossed in his thoughts, this went unnoticed by Lu Xun as he went on with his search.

_"Well, people can love their family, can't they? And what about friends?"_

_"I think family is different, and friends are just like what I said before. You're eventually going to get bored of them or just stop liking them." _

Lu Xun remembered how she said it so matter-of-factly. How it was some type of phase, some fact of life everyone has accepted. Everyone but him.

_"Don't you love someone?" _

_"No, I don't,"_

Lu Xun stopped in his tracks. There she was. Sitting in the field. Knees to her chest

_Why am I doing this to myself? You heard what she said. She doesn't love anyone. She doesn't love you._

"_Why? Do you?"_

_"N-no, not really. It's more of I've taken a liking to someone,"_

Lu Xun was oblivious to the sweat that drenched his hands and the big lump in his throat that formed out of nowhere. The subtle breeze did little to cool off the heat that burned within his face.

_Well, she didn't say she didn't like anyone. _

_So here goes nothing.._

Lu Xun forced his legs to make his feet move. Each step seemed heavy to him and he was pretty sure it sounded like a Nanman invasion with the elephant stomps his feet produced. Every last second killed him. When he finally reached her, he plopped down beside her like any other time he would.

She turns to look at Lu Xun to let him know he was acknowledged and not ignored. She was about to say something until her eyes caught sight of the sight before her. The best friend she knew wasn't usually this untidy and anxious. Sure, if he did some training with the other officers, he would get a bit rough and scruffy, but he liked to make himself presentable soon after. Along with the observation, her eyes soon locked onto the tiger lily. Upon that discovery, her eyes slowly rose to meet his anxious gaze.

Lu Xun knew this make-or-break, so without hesitation, he began to spill his heart out.

"I know you don't believe love is truly attainable, or even real for that matter. But I want to prove you wrong. Even if you stopped loving me from boredom or me neglecting to take care of you or for whatever reason, I just want you to love me. I don't care the reason, I just want to be loved. By you."

A shaky hand presented the tiger lily, wobbling with utmost nervousness and sweating with enough moisture to keep the flower alive if it was to stay out of water. She looked at him with astonishment, but accepted the flower. Lu Xun could not read her, whether she was shocked from happiness, or whether she was upset and she was looking for a polite way to turn him down. Lu Xun was pretty sure he was embarrassing himself further and racking up more damage that he would be unable to manage, but continued on.

"S-so, with this flower, I wanted to ask you something. If you um, like me, I wanted to give you this flower for both of us to share; you take one and I keep one for myself. But if you don't feel that way about me, that definitely okay, too. If you don't like me, it's all yours to keep. I-I thought of the flowers representing us, so whether you realize it or not, I'll always be with you.."

The two sat in silence while the breeze whispered ever so slightly. She continued to hold his gaze, but Lu Xun began to falter with doubt. The tiger lily twiddled between her hands and Lu Xun didn't dare look at whether the two flowers were separated or not.


End file.
